I Will Always Be With You
by gaytheorist
Summary: Severus Snape received the visit of Lily Potter in a dream and asked him to take care of his eight-year-old child. Severus accepted, but the world is a much more dangerous place when you are Harry Potter, making the task almost impossible to fulfill.
1. Dream

Severus Snape, Potions Master at Hogwarts, wasn't fond of his students, they were stupid kids that have almost burnt his class down to ashes more than once, but he liked children, Draco Malfoy, his godson, was one of his favorites, he was so intelligent and active, sometimes even annoyingly so, that Severus always wanted to see him when he had an especially bad day. Draco liked him just because he was "uncle Sev" and didn't judge his dark looks.

Thinking about his godson made him ponder about The-Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, son of his best friend Lily Potter nee Evans and his worst enemy James Potter, Dumbledore had said that the child was in a happy muggle family that treated him like a prince. In some way, the thought of the Potter spawn being spoiled made him assume that the kid was a bully, a spoiled prat, someone that he won't welcome in his class, he would be exactly like his father. But also, Potter being spoiled was always better than the kid being abused, after all he Vowed to protect the child, if the child was save on the muggle house, wherever that is, he will be in peace with himself.

It was a cold night of December, Severus went to bed after grading some first year's essays, surprisingly they weren't inadequate, some of the students weren't able to pass but there wasn't any Trolls upon the marks, which was very rare, 'I may have a capable group among my first years.' He fell asleep quickly, which was easily achieved with the help of some sleeping potion of his own creation.

The dream in which he was had Lily on it, which is how he knew that it was, indeed, a dream, she got closer and closer, getting away from the dark mass that was the deeps of the scene, his best friend sat down on the love seat, which Severus hadn't notice before, and gestured for him to seat on the armchair in front of her.

Once he sat down Lily started talking: "Sev… it´s been a very long time… I missed you" Severus wanted to express the same feelings towards her, but she cut him by continuing her speech "I need you Sev… Harry, my son… he needs you, he is alone with Petunia, my little boy is with my vicious sister and his whale husband…" Severus was extremely confused, Dumbledore told him otherwise "But Lily… Dumbledore told me that.." he was cut again but this time by James Potter "Dumbledore… that son of a b…" he saw James taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself "Snape… I know I was a complete idiot towards you but I want to say sorry, it was wrong and I should have known better"

Severus was speechless for the first time in his life, James Potter was apologizing to him, he was angry but somehow, seeing that the man was sorry, and, even if it was after his dead, still wanted to say so, made him reconsider if James was really that bad of a choice for Lily "how did Harry end up in Tuney's house?" Severus spoke after a couple of minutes of silence, during which James sat down next to his wife and took her hand "Albus wanted it like that, why? I cannot tell" Lily sighed deeply "you have to save him Sev please, promise me you will" Severus swallowed some saliva thinking about the promise before accepting the request, then Lily stood up and kissed his cheek. After that sweet gesture, Lily and his husband thanked Severus before marching away into the darkness.

Severus woke up feeling everything and anything, all the information that he believed true had been twisted by a dream, were the facts even real? They had to be, he felt Lily's kiss, he saw them, they were real, he could have sworn it. He had to talk with the headmaster, he needed answers.

He dressed himself in a hurry, thinking about everything that he needed to corroborate and how to do it, his train of thought took him to wonder if the headmaster would tell him the truth if he asked. By the way James had reacted when Severus mentioned the Old Man he supposed that he was hardly going to get any truthful answer… but he needed to try nevertheless so he got dress and started walking up the stairs from the dungeon to the headmaster office.


	2. Question

Harry woke up that morning at 6 am, like every morning since he remembered, he felt his body aching, after all, his uncle was rather vicious with his punishment the day before. To be honest, he deserved it, another weird thing had happened the day before, he couldn't explain how the roses had started to open and close in a little dance, it had made him smile until his uncle came… it got worse when he said the forbidden word "magic," but it was magic, or at least it looks like it, why did he uncle keep saying that magic wasn't real if it was happening in front of him?

Anyway, he couldn't change his uncle, it was not like he could just ask some supernatural force for someone that cared to come and pick him up, right? He stood tall, well, as tall as he was, which wasn't much, and got into the kitchen, using a little stool to be able to reach the kitchen and make breakfast. When he failed to make some of the bacon right, leaving it for too long and burning it, his aunt Petunia took his arm and placed an ice on it, leaving it to burn his bare skin, it hurt so badly… but he couldn't cry out loud because it would make everything even worse so he cried silently before going to put on his "going to school shirt" and some shoes.

Once outside, he realized he had to wear a jumper, he tried to go and get it, but his uncle pushed him out of the house, so hard that he lost his balance and ended up on the cold floor. After a couple hours of classes they had recess and Harry was being bullied again, so he ran as much as he could, he hid in a broom closet, he always felt safe on small spaces and closets, Dudley wouldn't bother to get him on those, he barely fitted in one… once he was safe he started thinking about, even though he didn't believe that it was going to help, praying to someone, some kind of fate to send him a person to get him out of the Dursley's house, he decided that it wouldn't hurt to try and prayed for the remaining of the recess hoping it would help.

Severus Snape stepped inside the headmaster's office and sat down on one of the chairs that were laid in front of the grandiose table, he looked at the headmaster with a questioning look while said old man walked towards the chair on the other side of the table, "it is a pleasure to have you here my boy… lemon drop? Tea?" he said as a way to break the ice as well as being polite, Severus, with the same politeness declined the offer deciding to ask the important questions about the child as soon as possible to be able to retrieve him as soon as possible "thank you, headmaster but I came here to ask you about Harry Potter" Severus could have sworn that the statement definitely had been a shook to the headmaster but the old man was good at hiding his emotions, so he couldn't be sure.

"I was hoping I could check on him since he is Lily's son and I vowed to protect him…" Severus tried to look as good intentioned as possible even if he knew that he was going to take the boy away from that family. "My boy… you don't have to worry at all, Minerva can tell you, Harry is in the best house, living a good life" Dumbledore let slip a piece of information that, Severus assumed, didn't think the black haired man would use, so Minerva will tell him, he was convinced, she cared about Lily and James so she would not mind someone watching over their little child, it was Severus time to speak up "thank you for your reassures headmaster, if you don't mind, I will leave now, I need to prepare some potions" he stood up and made his leave, robes blowing behind him like large black wings.

His next stop was at Professor McGonagall's office, he sat down on another chair in front of a less imposing desk but this time he did accept the tea, the elderly woman was a very dear friend for him and he enjoyed her company very much, he explained the situation to her, including the dream and the conversation with the headmaster, because she trusted her with his secrets and knew that she was concerned about Harry as well. "Severus, I am so happy that you have decided to listen to Lily… the kid lives in the number 4 Privet Drive in Surrey, let me write it down for you" she wrote down the address and gave it to him "I will go now, thank you Minerva" he smiled for about half of a second before living the office and the castle, walking to through the main gates to be able to apparate.


	3. Photo

A black slim figure was seen at Privet Drive that evening, walking towards a house with the number four at the door. Once in front of the house, Severus Snape knocked and waited for an answer while looking around for any signal that could tell him that the boy was being treated badly, such as drops of blood or things alike, that may not trigger someone's eye if they are not looking thoughtfully, sadly, he couldn't find any, the garden seemed perfectly taken care of, even when it had clearly snowed copiously the day before, so he would need to step inside to confirm his theory, he was hoping that there would be some clues outside, that way he would have only had to pick the child and leave.

The door was answered by Petunia Dudley, nee Evans, who Severus could recognize easily because she was Lily's sister and she hated him almost as much as he hated her. His hatred was easily shown on his face, but when he spoke he sounded much calmer and polite, that way she would not be able to deny his entry to the house, "Good evening, I hope I do not disrupt your household, but I would very much like to come in" Severus said, "I came to check on your sister's son, Harry"

Petunia paled at the sight in front of her and was very vocal about her opinion on her sister's freaky friend coming to her beautiful house "I will not allow someone like you inside my house, you freak, you snatched my sister away from me and make her a freak, you won't do the same with the boy, we are in the process to make him normal!" Severus was very much prepared for this kind of insults but, the fact that these people really thought that magic could be beaten out of someone disgusted him and made him remember about his own father.

When the woman stopped ranting he took his wand of its holster very discreetly and aimed it at her "let me in before I do something" he said and saw how Petunia opened the door fully to let him in "Vernon!" she yelled, hoping that her husband would do something with the freak and kick him out.

The big whale of a man stood up from his armchair and approached the dark and slim man in a violent manner, raising his fist and yelling no sense in which you could barely distinguish some curse words that drew Dursley's attention. Severus, in return, stunned the big man and levitated him back into the living room, of course this spell work on a muggle could be a serious problem if Vernon had not been violent but, as this was not the case, it would count as self-defense to the ministry and his memories would be enough to prove it. He left the man on the floor in the middle of the living room, scaring both, mother and son, who were occupying the sofa.

At this point, Severus Snape looked towards the eight-year-old, who look obese and spoiled, calmly, as he didn't want to scare the boy further, it would not be wise to do so, he needed answers, he asked, "where is Harry?" the boy raised his hand and pointed towards somewhere in the hallway, Severus sighed and walked towards it, then he heard it, an almost soundless thud against the cupboard under the stairs door.

Harry had been listening to the conversation from the very beginning, the man said he had come to check on him, was he going to take him away? What if the place where he is sent to is even worse? Those thoughts hunted him while the conversation was still going, suddenly everything seems calmer and he had to bend a bit further to be able to hear it properly, when he failed to do so he punched the door slightly in frustration, without knowing that this had drawn the attention of the potions master.

Severus breathed shakily trying to calm his rage at the view of a locker on the cupboard's door, Harry was kept there against his will. He opened the little door, he crouched down to see the interior better and found a kid that looked about five or six years old, dressed in oversized clothes that looked dirty and ripped, who was desperate to move as far as possible form the open door.

Lily's son was scared and confined, his best and first friend's son was being abused, he bit his lip, trying to hold back any emotion that may scare the child further, Instead, he offered a little friendly smirk, showing kindness in his eyes, a kindness that many failed to see, and then, after putting on some privacy spells to make sure the abusers didn't hear anything, he spoke "Hello Harry, I am Severus Snape, I was friends with your mum and she has asked me to take you with me to a safer place, your mum and dad loved you very much and they would like you to have a happy life" Severus stopped there, trying to see if the little child was understanding him.

He was going to speak again when he heard a small voice "aunt Petunia said that mum and dad didn't love me and they killed themselves in a car accident…" Harry said, he was confused, he wanted to believe the things that the dark, kind man was saying but he had to be sure, he needed proof of the man's connection to his parents, he didn't have to wait long before he got his reassurance, "Harry, your parents loved you so much… they would do anything for you, she lied to you but I would never do that, look, I bring this with me" Severus pulled a photo of him and Lily together the day they received their letters to Hogwarts, the picture was a magical one so you could see them both smiling and waving their letters.

Harry looked at it while tears started to fall, he noticed it moved and looked up at Severus with a question on his mouth but it was cut up by the explanation "it's magic, I will explain you later" the man said without knowing how much did mean to Harry the fact that someone was going to take the time to explain him something new, at school he was mostly ignored so he didn't have that experience.

"can… can we leave?" those were the words that broke the silence, they were shyly enunciated but it was good enough for Severus who had much more patience with little kids than with his students. Severus nodded slowly and offered his hand to harry who got outside of the little space.

Severus helped him up "take your toys and things that you want to keep, don't worry about clothes we will fix that later" when the kid handed him two broken toys Severus looked confused "this are my toys… can you keep them safe?" the little man spoke, Severus took the two soldiers and put them in one of his pockets before lifting the privacy spells and the stunning spell, then he stood in front of the living room where the abusers were, "we are leaving, but I will be back to make you pay" Severus then took Harry's hand and walked outside.

Once outside he explained briefly how were they going to travel to the kid, explaining how Severus needed to pick him up, which the boy didn't seem to mind at all, and how it would feel like a small tube, also he explained that it was completely fine to feel ill afterwards so the kid didn't feel guilty if he did throw up. When Harry was comfortable in Severus' arms, Severus thought that the kid was too light and clingy he didn't mind the clinginess but the weight concerned quite a bit, he rubbed the little's back before apparating to Hogwarts.


	4. Cat

Harry felt like he was being squeezed into a thin tube, it made him think about a vacuum, sucked into a tiny tube without being able to breathe at all. These sensations had been explained to him beforehand by his rescuer, but this fact didn't make it any less scary or predictable in any way, after all, you can explain the feeling but, if you do not have an experience on your own, you cannot fully understand because each person feels different.

Harry knew this, he liked to think that he was smart for his age, even though his relatives seemed to think otherwise, he also thought that his family wasn't smart, at least the ones that he knew, should he really call them family? After all, they didn't do any of the things that a family is supposed to do, he should ask someone older, like the dark man.

Once the constriction stopped he dared to look around finding a large gate with two wild pigs with wings, which Harry thought they looked kind of funny in those big columns, it looked powerful and intimidating but silly at the same time, between the two pigs there was a tall iron gate, with intricated patrons. This also looked to be in the middle of nowhere, but at the very back, you could see the shape of a tower with various lights inside.

They walked towards the castle in a slow pace, mainly because Harry's small legs and inevitable curiosity did slow them down, Severus usually would be exasperated by that behavior, but this time could not make himself to feel that way. Lily's child was utterly adorable, although Severus would never admit that he thought that way.

Suddenly, the small child pointed very shyly towards a grey cat, Severus recognized McGonagall's animagus, but Harry didn´t know anything about her so Severus crouched by the little boy's side and spoke calmly "Harry, do you want to touch the cat?" the little boy looked at him in question before answering "can I? really?" Harry innocent looks in his eyes that had the certain light on them, but you could also see fear, no towards the cat, but toward the adult.

"May I" he corrected gently "and yes, you may" the old cat slowly approached the little child but stopped so Harry could make the last move. Harry looked at Severus for a last-minute confirmation, once the adult nodded, Harry extended his hand slowly and touched the animal slowly and gently.

Severus felt something warm in the pit of his stomach when the small boy smiled, a shy one, but a smile nevertheless "She likes you, shall we keep going? I am sure you will see her again soon" Harry smiled wider but it was stopped by a yawn, he hadn't realized how tired he was, and they were so far away from the castle, he looked at the tall man debating on whether asking Severus to carry him or not. Severus, on the other hand, saw this and smiled slightly "Harry, would you allow me to carry you?"

Harry look at the older man and nodded, amazed by the fact that the adult seemed to have read his mind, he nodded slowly putting his hands up a little, then the tall man picked him up, it was a new sensation for the little child who slowly started to relax in the adult's arms while he started walking towards the castle.

Once near the main door, Severus explained to the little one that here is where they were going to live, he was also talking about the meeting with the headmaster, who he said that was called something like Dumblebloor. Harry wasn't excited about that but he didn't dare to say anything, he just looked up and asked softly "Are you going to be there with me, sir?" Severus' heart broke a little, a child of this age should be confident enough to be in the same room as a teacher or headmaster "I will always be with you little one."

 **A/N: I know it is a small chapter but I thought it was too cute I will upload the next part tomorrow, don't worry.**


	5. Light

Severus Snape climbed up the stairs with the little one on his hip, it was a rather tender but strange view, like seeing a dragon with his baby dragon in the middle of Gringotts. The child was hidden in the potions master neck, even if the professor tried to awake his curiosity pointing out several objects that would be new for Harry.

Once they reached the griffin that guarded the headmaster's entrance, Harry, for the first time looked up, mostly because Severus had said "chocolate frogs" which was the password for the office this month, and, even though Harry hadn't heard about that particular sweet it did have a word that he knew fairly well "chocolate." Harry saw a big statue of an animal that he didn't recognize, it had halves of its body like an eagle and the other part it seemed to be a lion, he shyly pointed towards it while Severus walked up the stairs "it is a Griffin, Harry, I will explain it later" Harry nodded and looked around, more curious now that he knew Severus wasn't angry at him for looking or asking.  
They got into the headmaster's office, Harry was still looking around amazed by the greatness of the castle, apparently all Severus had to do to take the shyness away from the boy was saying the word chocolate. Albus looked up from the paper that he was working on, and stood up in shock, it was extremely rare to shock the headmaster, after all, he was a wise, but he had never expected to see Severus Snape with a Potter on his hip.  
The headmaster recovered quickly from his shock and invited the pair to take a seat, after they had seated, Harry on Severus lap, Albus offered them a lemon drop, one of his favorites sweets, and watched with fascination how the little one looked up to Severus as if asking for permission. Severus smiled faintly and nodded, then Harry smiled and took one of the sweets, right after a faint 'thank you' was heard, Albus could do nothing but smile to the little boy. "Severus… my boy… that is Harry Potter" he said as a matter of fact, trying to make the other one talk "Yes, he is, headmaster, I found his home to be disagreeable, he cannot be there" Albus was about to protest when Severus cut him by continuing his train of thought "he will stay with me, I made a promise and he is starting to trust me."  
Albus could see that already, he had noticed how the little child was, but the blood wards were extremely important for the child's safety. Albus walked around the room thinking on a solution, he could not let Harry go back in there even though it was his original plan, but he needed the wards, then it clicked, there was a ritual which was held by the goblins which allowed the adopted child to become blood-related with the parent. "If you want to keep the child you will have to go through a blood adoption, it is the only way to keep the blood wards, are you aware of this ritual? It is held by the goblins, although you may have to adopt him formally beforehand so I would definitely suggest you go to the Ministry now, or perhaps tomorrow morning"  
Severus listened carefully to all the old man's ranting and traced a plan, he would show Harry his quarters, his new home, today, put him to sleep, because the little one was already tired even though he was trying really hard to stay awake and quiet, and tomorrow morning he would contact Lucius and ask for advice. "thank you, headmaster, I must do as you said, if you need me I will be at my quarters" Severus said in a calm voice, showing his gratitude towards the man that let him take the little one in, after one last 'good bye' Severus took Harry down the corridors towards the dungeons.  
This time Harry seemed more curious about his surroundings and kept looking around shyly, eventually, everything was too much, too much new information, there were TVs in every corner but they didn't seem to follow any specific script. It didn't make sense, he thought about asking Severus, so he looked at the adult and then at the nearest TV and asked, "why would you need so many TVs?" which made the adult laugh a bit "Harry, dear, even though I agree on your statement, that is, there is no need for all this… they are paintings, not TVs, but I can understand why you might have thought that they were TVs" at this statement Harry frowned and asked again "they can't be paintings, Sir… they move… paintings are made to stay still" Severus looked at the child's face and sighed in amusement, Harry was too precious and intelligent "they have magic, Harry, this castle is full of magic, you" the last word was enunciated while Severus pointed to the child's chest "have magic, you are a wizard, as I am, and Dumbledore is, although Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard I've ever known" Severus smiled at the look of wonder of the little child, his forest green eyes were looking at Severus with a fascination and adoration that the adult would have never thought could send his way.  
Soon enough they were in front of a painting of Salazar Slytherin that, upon seeing the young one smiled at Severus "Moonstone" the Potion's Master whispered and the painting opened reviling a cozy and warm living room. Both, the little one, now walking on his own, and the adult, stepped through towards the couches. Severus was pleased to see the new room added to Harry, it had plain colors but, as was written in a note left by Dumbledore, the elves would change it according to Harry's preference.  
Suddenly, the fireplace roared, emitting a green flame that made Harry scared for a moment, he looked towards Severus for help, not only the fire turned an unnatural color but a blonde man had appeared out of nowhere. Severus quickly moved towards the fireplace and held out his hand for his friend to shake "Lucius, I didn't expect you today, come in" he then realized the confusion that was written on the child's face "Harry, this is a very good friend of mine, Lucius Malfoy, he came through the floo, I will explain the method of transportation in detail tomorrow if you want me too."  
Harry nodded and softly said "good evening Mister Malfoy, it is a pleasure to meet you, my name is Harry Potter" Lucius was taken aback by the formality of the child, not even Draco was as formal, but appreciated anyway and smiled towards him "call me Lucius, there is no need to be as formal, Severus, how come Harry Potter is in your living room?" he said while turning towards the dark man "I was going to explain the situation tomorrow but, summarizing the events, I want to adopt Harry, his previous guardians were less than fit" Lucius caught up the meaning behind the words easily and took a deep breath "it should be easy to get it done, are you going to sign the papers tomorrow?" at Severus' nod Lucius continued "then I will go with you, to make sure there is not a problem… in another topic, Draco has asked me if he could come by some day, he misses you terribly."  
The adults were soon planning when Severus' godson would go to the castle while Harry drifted to sleep slowly, lulled by the men's gentle and deep voices. He eventually was pressed against Severus side with a protective arm around him, he dreamed about a redhaired woman and a black-haired man that smiled at him proudly and happily, Severus was also there, beside him, Harry felt safe with those people around, it felt like family.


	6. Family

The next morning Harry woke up to the feeling of someone shaking him softly, it was a new experience, no one had ever woken him up that way. He opened his eyes slightly and saw the potions master looking at him with a straight face but tender in his eyes, Harry smiled and whispered, "good morning Sir."

Severus picked the little boy up and went to the bathroom with him "take a shower, you have some towels over there and some clothes here, if you need me just call, I will be in the kitchen" he said while pointing at the items that he listed, the clothes were some Severus' shrunken ones but it worked for the day. Severus let the child take his shower and went to the kitchen to fix some breakfast, the elves usually served the meals but Severus thought that Harry would be upset upon seeing one of the little creatures, just because it was new and the child had had enough new things for a day, taking in account that he was going to meet the goblins today.

Harry took a quick shower putting on the clothes which fit perfectly and made him look like his soon-to-be guardian, the feeling of the fabric was very nice, like it was new and well-kept, Harry was confused, he didn't deserve clothes, his relatives always said that he didn't deserve it… he went to the kitchen to find Severus finishing the breakfast, he sat down on one of the chairs and looked up to Severus "Sir? is this clothing for me? Don't get me wrong, I love them, it's just…"

Severus' heart hurt for the little child, he knew what the child meant, he smiled slightly and put breakfast on the table and sat own "Harry those are yours and we will buy more after we go to the bank, where I will become your father" he stopped there to give some time for the child to process the information "you will be my dad?" upon Severus nod in confirmation Harry smiled brightly before standing up and hugging the adult who hugged him back "let's finish our breakfast child, we will go to Malfoy Manor and then we will go to the goblins"

Severus explained Harry what floo was and how it worked while they were having breakfast, Harry even asked some questions about the theory behind it, Severus couldn't believe that a person of that intelligence was only eight years old. When they finished eating their breakfast they flooed to Malfoy Manor where the pureblood family was waiting for them, "very good morning Severus and Harry" the patriarch of the family shook Severus hand before brushing Harry's hair softly "this is my son, Draco" Lucius said putting his hand on the other child's shoulder who looked so much like him "It is a pleasure to meet you Draco, I'm Harry Potter" Harry smiled and shook Draco's hand when it was offered "it's a pleasure to meet you too, I hope we can be friends" Draco said with a soft voice, he wanted to have good real friends, like his parents and Severus were.

Narcissa was introduced to Harry by Lucius, she was a beautiful woman, she had an aristocratic and intimidating look, as if she believed that she was better than anyone but also, she looked like a mother, the way she looked at Harry and fixed the neck of his little shirt made Harry trust her and think of her as a kind woman.

Once everyone was introduced they flooed to Gringotts, Harry was instantly amazed by the little creatures with mean faces that worked at the place, "they are goblins, really good with money but they aren't very friendly" Draco whispered to Harry when he noticed his confused look. One of them walked towards Lucius and asked if he needed anything, once Lucius asked for a private place to talk the whole group followed the goblin to an enormous office full of shelves with shiny things on them, Harry was fascinated and so was Draco, both of them had to be led by the adults towards the chairs.

"Lord and Lady Malfoy, Professor Snape, what can this institution help you with?" Griphook, the goblin, asked politely, he seemed honestly curious, "Mr. Griphok, I know for a fact that your people host a ceremony called 'blood adoption' and my friend Professor Snape was wondering if it would be possible to perform this ritual, he wanted to adopt this little boy, Harry Potter" he gestured towards Harry and the goblin looked at him surprised, Severus took his hand and squeezed it slightly, making Harry clam a little even though Griphok's look was intimidating.

"It will definitely be possible, it will be prepared while you filled the needed papers for the Ministry" Griphok handled the papers to Severus and then left the place to get the ceremony prepared. Severus asked some questions to Harry while filling the papers, the last question was the most important one "do you want to take my surname?" Severus looked at Harry closely "Can I have both? I would love to have your name but I also want to keep mine… something like Snape-Potter?" Severus smiled slightly and hugged Harry with one arm "Snape-Potter sounds perfect" he wrote it down and signed at the end of the page.

When the goblin came back he asked the group to follow him, they were led into a dark room with an altar in the middle, Griphok told Harry and Severus to step near the altar, where other goblin started to speak in a strange language, soon they were asked to share seven drops of blood, Severus helped Harry first, he poked the child's finger with the blade before doing it on his own. The goblin mixed it with a special potion and gave three quarters to Severus and a quarter to Harry because Severus was taking the responsibility over the child while the child was only going to take some of Severus' features, the changes would appear from the first half an hour to twenty-four hours after the ceremony or so the goblin said, it was something that Harry was looking forward to. The ritual ended soon after, it was rather simple unlike wizarding rituals which were extremely complicated, the goblins rituals were simple but needed a lot of magic and power.

The group went to have lunch at Malfoy Manor after thanking the goblins, while they were eating Harry and Draco talked about the things that they saw that day, occasionally asking for an explanation which Narcissa was more than happy to answer, while the adults talked about changes in Severus life and how he was going to manage to teach while taking care of Harry, after all, school would start again after the Christmas break which started today. They concluded that he always could ask for help within the castle, Minerva was the first name to come up, she loved Harry, Hagrid was also a good option after all the half-giant had a huge mother hen and couldn't hurt a fly.

"Sir? I was wondering… can… can I call you dad?" Harry said while looking down, Severus gently moved his head so he could look into his eyes, then he noticed, Harry's eyes, were changing, one of them was obviously turning black, it was amazing how only one of them was changing "I am your father now Harry, of course you can call me dad" he kissed Harry's forehead "your eyes are changing, one of them is turning black like mine" everyone turned to see the change while Severus conjured a mirror for Harry to see himself into "cool…" the child breathed out "it is really pretty" Draco said smiling "I can't wait to see how I look after the twenty-four hours" Harry said excitedly.


	7. Rights

After lunch, the Malfoy family left since they had to assist an important event, something related to Lucius' business in France, so the now Snape family was alone walking down the streets of Diagon Ally. It was a rather pleasant afternoon, not too cloudy even though it was December, it wasn't snowing either but the streets were white because of previous snow storms, you could say that Christmas was right around the corner, all the shops were decorated with colorful lights and extravagant ornaments, the children ran around the place trying to make their parents buy them that one toy they wanted

Severus, on the other hand, was walking down the street with a quiet polite little boy who looked around in wonder but never asked for anything, this behavior worried Severus, he was expecting something different, maybe not as exuberant as the other children but definitely something, he looked towards Harry who was trying to figure out what everything was and softly said "Harry, we need to go find you some clothes, then we can go to the toy store" he, Severus Snape, was offering volunteer to go to a toy store, but Harry deserved it, he deserved some toys, it was a basic human right, children have the right to play.

Harry, on the other hand, didn't want to hope for a trip to the toy store, it had happened before, Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia would say that he could get a toy if he behaved but, even if he didn't do anything he wouldn't get it because he was a freak, but his new dad seemed honest, he would be the best boy that way he would be able to get at least a little plushie. Harry nodded and followed Severus towards the entrance of muggle London, where they would shop first.

The first shop was in a big mall so Severus made sure that Harry was by his side all the time taking his hand just in case, Severus tended to rush with everything and that usually ended up with people not following, he didn't want to lose the child, even though said child was already eight, he didn't seem to mind. Severus held various t-shirts in front of the child, mostly plain ones, for the one with designs Severus would let Harry pick out his favorites, the main color was, of course, green, like his eyes, the child pointed out that he liked blue, not any blue, Ravenclaw blue, even if the child didn't know just yet what that meant. At the end, he had purchased plain t-shirts sporting the four main Hogwarts colors, a couple white dress shirts and four pairs of jeans, all the way Harry seemed completely overwhelmed by all the things that Severus was buying and didn't ask for anything at all.

Harry followed Severus holding his hand tightly, everything was a first, even the holding hand part, it was a normal gesture from a parent to a child and at Harry's age would be something to be embarrassed about, but he could not be happier, the gesture only reinforced the idea that Severus, his father now, wanted him. When they walked out of the store Severus stopped him and looked at him crouching down to seem less intimidating, Harry really appreciated this, "We are going to this other clothes store before we go to the toy store, be patience I know this might not be entertaining but it is necessary" Harry just nodded at this even though he thought to buy all these clothes was really fun and unnecessary "In this store there is more colorful and variate clothing so I want you to pick two t-shirts and one pair of jeans, you will need also a pair of sport shoes, alright my son?"

Harry nodded happily, his dad just called him "his son" and he said it with affection and not in a sarcastic way, not like the Dursleys, who a couple of times before had pretended to care just to mock him. Harry started walking through the stands, still holding Severus hand tightly, he didn't want to lose his dad, suddenly a black t-shirt with a dark red dragon on the front caught his attention, he loved animals and dragons were fascinating, a book that he read for school said that dragons were mythical creatures, some had wings, others didn't… and they could control elements.

Severus noticed how the child staid looking at the t-shirt in thought so Severus reached to the stack of shirts and looked for the right size, admiring the hope that radiated from his son's eyes "here, this is your size, it is a little bit big but you will grow to fit it properly" the adult handed the shirt to his son who smiled and pressed it tightly to his chest "now, one more shirt, then we will go get jeans."

Harry look through some more finding a white shirt with a dark green and yellow snake, this time Harry asked for it instead of thinking too much if he could or could not have it "I like snakes… well I like reptiles in general" he had some trouble with the pronunciation of "reptiles" and Severus thought it was adorable, "Slytherin at its finest" commented Severus while picking the right size "I will tell you about Hogwarts houses when we get there, don't worry" Harry nodded and walked towards the jeans to repeat the process and pick some up, they ended up buying two instead of one because Harry seemed to have trouble deciding which one he wanted, then they picked the last item, some white trainers, paid and head outside.

"Let's go to the toy store now, we will go to Madam Malkins on another date" Severus said while leading Harry towards the colorful store, while Severus did not like the idea of going into a toy store, the look of pure excitement on Harry's face was more than enough argument to adventure himself in such a place. Once on the store, Severus crouched down in front of Harry to be at the same level "Alright child, we are going to go to a magical toy store but I know you may want some familiar toys too so, anything at all that catches your attention tell me, understood?" Severus wasn't expecting to have his arms full of Harry at the end of the sentence, but hugged him back nevertheless "come on Harry, where do you want to start?"

Harry looked around thinking for a moment, it felt weird, he had so many options, he could go anywhere, it felt a bit scary but Severus' hand on his shoulder made it better. He started walking toward the plushies and found a fluffy light pink rabbit, he didn't want to point it out at first because pink is a girl's color, but Severus seemed to read his mind and picked it up "he looks like a good friend Harry" the child smiled at this and squeezed his new friend "his name is Dante" Harry said holding it for Severus to see "really good name my son" Harry had heard the name to a couple of older girls on his school and always seemed like a great name.

After that Harry was more confident at pointing out what he wanted, he still hesitated a bit a couple of times but Dante was the proof that Harry needed to trust that Severus was, indeed, buying him toys. They got an animal set, a couple more plushies, and a remote-control car, everything was exciting but the other children never stopped screaming and running around, even if it looked fun, their behavior was not the best and it made Harry get a headache. Once outside of the mall Severus held out his arm for him to reach, they were going to apparate back to Hogwarts where Severus believed necessary to hold a little "family meeting" in which Severus would explain basic human rights and explaining to the little one the Houses at Hogwarts.

Immediately after they got into their quarters, Severus started to put the clothes on Harry's wardrobe while the child arranged his toys very carefully and thoughtfully "these are so many toys…" Severus heard his son mumbled, he sighed and sat down beside him on the floor "Harry… my son… you deserve them… it is your right as a child and I am sorry that you didn't have them before" Harry looked confused, he didn't know what "right" meant but he had heard it before, his uncle use to say it a lot "Uncle Vernon says that freaks don't have rights…" he said while looking down, ashamed of his past.

Severus sighed and hugged the little boy, Petunia and Vernon where monsters and did not deserve anything, hopefully someday he will actually get revenge, for now, though he had to fix his best friend's, and James Potter, son "Harry, even though the world is an unfair place to be we all have rights, they are called human rights and as long as you are a human you have rights which are basically certain freedoms that are guaranteed" Harry nodded slowly, taking in all the information and trying to figure out what it meant for him "also, being a 'freak', which you are not, isn't bad… it just means… unusual, eccentric, rare, and believe me, when you get to adulthood we all want to be different" Severus laughed a little when Harry wrinkled his nose at the word "adulthood."

Harry then rested his head on his dad's shoulder, he was tired and his dad was telling him all these things that flipped his world upside down "Dad? Do I look any different?" Severus looked down and took his son's chin "your cheekbones are a little sharper… I think your face is getting a bit longer in general, not a big deal but if you look at it you can definitely see it… and your hair is getting darker… I think it will end up being black, instead of the dark brown that was James' hair, you kept the crazy curls… and I like them…" Severus smiled widely "your parents, James and Lily, were good-looking people, especially Lily… so it is not a surprise how handsome you are" he kissed Harry's forehead "tomorrow we will redecorate this plain room and go visit some of the staff here at Hogwarts… so go get your pajamas and brush your teeth, I can tell you are tired, if you do it fast we can read something in bed" Harry listened to his dad carefully before sprinting towards the bathroom to get ready.

Once both where ready Harry got under the covers Severus sat down next to him "so, what do you want me to tell you about?" Harry thought for a moment before saying "Hogwarts" in an excited voice, Severus smiled and started telling him about the founders of the school and how it was built, the child fell asleep soon after Severus started talking but the adult stayed to watch over him for a bit, just to breath calmly and get the idea of actually having this child with him to settle. After a couple of minutes, Severus stood up, took the camera that Lily had given to him a long time ago and took a picture of Harry sleeping, the first one of many others, then he went to bed, happy for the first time in many years.


	8. Paint

Severus woke up early in the morning, he was tired but also weirdly excited, he thought that it may have something to do with being officially the father of a little brilliant boy who was sleeping on the other room, he let himself smile before standing up to cook some breakfast. Today was going to be a busy one, they needed to meet with Dumbledore, just to tell him about the adoption and how everything went, he also wanted to introduce Madame Pomphrey and Hagrid to Harry, he knew that the half-giant was going to be really happy to see the little one, after all he had been counting down the years for Harry to attend Hogwarts.

Once the breakfast was ready he went to wake up the little boy. It was incredible how his life and his hopes for a future had changed in such a little time before Harry irrupted in his life his only motivation to get by the day was to wait until his death doing productive things...

Harry woke up the same way as the day before, with his dad shaking him awake gently, at first, he flinched slightly, the habits that eight years of being treated badly had built in Harry weren't going to leave in a day, but right after he realized that his dad was the one waking him up he smiled and sat up. "good morning dad…" he said while he started to stretch, Severus led Harry to the bathroom like he had done the day before, with a small but genuine smile on his face.

After breakfast and all the routinely affairs were dealt with they walked outside, adventuring the castle, they climbed the eternal staircase from the dungeons, where their quarters were, to Dumbledore's office, where the old Headmaster was already waiting for them. "Very good morning, my boys" Dumbledore said in his grandfatherly voice when they entered his office, "good morning headmaster"

The first thing that Dumbledore noticed about the little child was his eyes, proving to him how serious was Severus about kipping the child "oh… I see you performed the ritual, you look like the perfect blend of all of your parents Harry, my boy" Harry smiled shyly towards the grandfather figure of Hogwarts "thank you Sir" he mumbled before hiding slightly behind his father's robes.

"We just came here to let you know that the ritual was a success Headmaster, and also to ask you if Hagrid and Madam Pomphrey are available" Severus said in an unthreatening manner, which was unnormal for him "Madam Pomphrey had to leave for the morning, there was a problem in St. Mungos that needed to be addressed, they called most of the mediwitches and mediwizards on England, she should be back by lunchtime, Hagrid on the other hand is with Remus on his hut, they are trying to combine Christmas and Yule, to make the entire affair easy for the muggle-borns…"

Severus was startled for a second, his nightmare was back in the castle, and near his son, he would not expose his son to that beast, how is that the Headmaster is letting him near the castle? Oh, yes, Gryffindor favoritism… Severus snapped back to reality when his son touched his hand lightly "dad… are you ok?" he heard his son ask "yes… I am fine… I just… didn't expect Lupin to be around…" he mumbled to himself more than to the little boy "Severus… my boy, you should talk to him, I know I was not fair, or it seemed like I wasn't… but believe me, he is sorry"

Severus swallowed the bump on his throat in order to try and not be too rude towards Dumbledore, he knew that the Headmaster was right, he always was… well, most of the time, and Lupin probably was sorry, but Severus was not ready to see the man that holds the beat that almost killed him inside him. "I will think about it… we will be in our quarters until Lupin is out of the castle…" he said trying to appear calmed 'or until I am ready to talk to him' was implied, after all he would not take Christmas away from his son.

Severus and Harry walked back to the dungeon, once they were inside their rooms Severus relaxed considerably and smiled slightly towards the little boy "let's decorate your bedroom before lunch, then we can go outside and visit Madam Pomphrey" Harry nodded and followed his dad towards the newly added bedroom thinking that he would need to ask about said 'Lupin' later at lunch.

The child's bedroom consisted on a queen size bed, a little wooden desk with a matching wooden chair, an old closet that was slightly darker wood color and a couple of shelves where Harry had already arranged his toys "so, my son, what color would you like your room to be?" Severus asked while crouching down to Harry's size so he would not look intimidating "you can pick any color or pattern"

Harry thought for a moment if he could paint the walls any color he would paint them blue, but he also liked green, and red, and yellow, because they were the color of nature and freedom and they, were pretty "can I have a Hogwarts themed room? Like… there!" He said pointing at the wall across from the door where the bed was resting his headboard "I would like to have green, like the snake house… Slee…Slytherin!" Severus smiled widely and with a whispered " _Colovaria_ " he changed the color of the first wall, adding some snakes into it. Then Harry pointed to the wall on the right, were the windows towards the lake were situated "Raven…claw?" he said unsure at the name receiving a smile and a nod from his dad who charmed the wall accordingly, they went on with Gryffindor, in front of the bed, and Hufflepuff, which held the shelves with the toys, it fitted perfectly.

Harry nodded along and at the end, he stood up from his seat and hugged the man who immediately picked him up "there is nothing to fear dad… I will be there with you" Severus heart warmed and smiled at the beautiful child on his hands, he was so lucky to have him "you are right my son, and you do not have anything to fear either, I will always be with you to protect you and guide you" he kissed his son's forehead and cuddled him close.

Once they had finished eating Severus picked the little boy up and started their journey towards the hospital wing where Madam Pomphrey, already told about the situation by Dumbledore, was waiting for them to check on the child. Severus sat the boy, who was now shaking out of fear, on one of the little mattress "d-dad…" Severus squished his hand lovingly "everything will be fine my son, Poppy is a friend of mine and I will be here."

Madam Pomphrey introduced herself to the little boy who looked at her warily, normal behavior of a child towards a doctor, once the scanner was completed, achieved by demonstrating every single one of the charms in Dante the rabbit that Severus remembered to pick up before living, knowing that, even if Harry was too old for that kind of comfort, after the abuse, he would need some reassurance that often worked on younger children, the scanner showed how the main physical abuse involved burns and starvation which were easily cured with some cream and a proper diet.

Even though the physical abuse was not too harsh, counting on any kind of physical or psychological abuse is harsh and completely unacceptable, the psychological abuse was the worst part, Severus would have to reassure the child about many things that a normal child make take for granted. Overall, the visit to the Hospital wing was a success, Harry had not been sexually abused which was enormous relieve for Severus, but he also had a diet plan and a potion plan for the little one to grow healthy.

They were living in the Hospital wing, Harry eating a little sugar quill and talking softly with Dante while his dad took him back to the dungeons, when Severus saw the wolf, he tried to stay as calm as possible when he started to approach "Severus, we need to talk· Lupin said, looking at Harry softly and sadly, Severus, on the other hand, was trying to find a way to politely decline the offer so they could get back to the safety of their quarters.

 **A/N: Hello! It's been so long! I had too many things going on so I could not actually write... BUT I am back!**

 **I really hope you liked this chapter! if you did leave kudos, they are highly appreciated and also, comment what do you think about Severus and Remus relationship, what do you think is gonna happen between them in the next chapter?**

 **Thank you so much for reading**

 **~Alex~**


	9. Dog

Severus looked at the child who was shyly trying to bury himself on his chest "Lupin… is not the best moment… we will talk… just not now" Severus was terrified, but he understood the sense of responsibility that the wolf felt towards his son, he was not the only one to lose someone during that terrible day.

"I will contact you when we are ready" he nodded briefly at his own statement, Lupin had this understanding look on his eyes "is Harry ok?" the wolf asked as if it was the most important matter in the world "he could be better but yes, he will be fine" after that they headed to Hagrid's hut, after all the wolf seemed to have finished and the half-giant would cheer even the darkest days.

Father and son walked down the path during which Harry shyly declared that he wanted to walk by himself, like the first time they walked through the gardens in Hogwarts, Severus smiled at the boy and let him explore, well, all the exploring that looking around while tightly holding Severus' hand would let him, not because Severus didn't let him go by himself, but because Harry was too insecure to not be holding Severus all the time.

Once they were in front of the small house Severus knocked twice on the heavy wooden door and Hagrid was heard inside, they waited for a couple of seconds before the door was opened "Professor Snape! So good to see yah, I thought yah were Remus" Hagrid said without noticing the little boy that was now hiding behind his father.

"I just wanted to introduce you to someone very special" he said gently pushing Harry in front of him "Harry, may I introduce you to Hogwarts ground keeper Hagrid, he looks really big but he is the most loving person in this castle" Harry tried to be brave and, without taking his hands out of his father and his bunny Dante said a small "nice to meet you." Hagrid looked like he was about to cry, he had been waiting for little Harry to come to Hogwarts from the day he left him at his aunt's care "it's very nice to meet yah too 'arry, please, come in, I'll prepare tea" Severus smiled down to his boy, squishing his hand in an encoring gesture.

They sat at the table with warm tea in front of them "not that I'm gonna complain, but how's little 'arry 'ere?" Hagrid asked while petting Fang who may have smelled Harry's wariness because he hadn't done anything that could have potentially scare the little boy. "I adopted Harry yesterday, I went to the Dursley residence yesterday to see for myself if Harry was treated well, once it was obvious that the Dursley are not suitable guardians, I took him" Severus explained leaving out the dreams of Lily and James.

Hagrid smiled sadly, hearing that such a sweet boy was in a bad household was saddening but he recovered quickly, 'Severus Snape with a child, well, that will be interesting' he thought while trying to understand why everyone thought about Severus as an evil man, he has committed mistakes but the fact that Harry could trust him made all of the difference in Hagrid's book, not that he thought that he was a bad person from the start, he knew Severus, the real Severus.

They spent quite some time on Hagrid's hut having a nice daily conversation while Harry got used to fang and started to pet him slowly, the big dog let him take his time and when he felt the child calmed enough he licked his face playfully, Harry froze for a second before he started to laugh hysterically. The adults stopped talking to watch the little boy play with the huge dog, after a while, the little one got tired and ran back to his dad's arms.

"It was a pleasure Hagrid, we will come back soon," Severus said while picking Harry up "yea, of course, come right in whenever yah want" little Harry waved goodbye to the half-giant and his dog sleepily.

Once back at their quarters Severus needed to have a small talk with his son about a certain wolf that walked around Hogwarts, he sat the little boy in the sofa and sat on the armchair to its right, he needed to keep his emotions on check, so he wouldn't worry his little one.

"Harry… Mr. Lupin would like to meet you" he saw his son's worried face "you have nothing to fear little one, neither for my sake nor yours, Remus Lupin was your parent friend and I don't want you to miss on a gentle figure to look up to because of my fears, which I am sure will fade away as soon as I am able to talk to Mr. Lupin about the incident" by the end of his speech Harry had climbed out of the sofa and gotten with him in the armchair breaking the serious atmosphere. "You are not leaving me, right dad? If I go with Mr. Lupin, right?" Severus hugged his little boy "of course not brat, you are stuck with me forever" Severus smiled slightly and kissed the boys forehead "then I will talk with him… can I sleep now, dad?" Severus nodded and carried his little one to his bed for a nap, after all, it had been a long day.

While Harry slept Severus floo called the wolf, maybe welcoming him to his home the very first time they properly talked wasn't a good idea, but he needed to get over his traumas as soon as possible so his son could enjoy the presence of the other man.

Once Remus was in the room he sat on the armchair opposite to Severus' "I really appreciate what you are doing Severus, I understand that is hard to invite someone like me into your house, especially after what I did to you… I am sorry for that day, and let me tell you I didn't know that Sirius had talked to you… he wasn't supposed to tell anyone… I am not trying to-."

Severus cut Remus rumbling with a gentle hand gesture "I… it's fine… really, and about not accepting people 'like you' into my house… you are not like Fenrir, you know that, right? If you are here is because I trust you enough to be near my son, Lily trusted you to do so, and Dumbledore does too… so may as well do so too" Severus took a deep breath trying to calm the panic inside him before talking again "Harry wants to talk to you and I want you to be there for him, tell him about James because my memories of him are not the best… I was not in a good place when I started Hogwarts and every memory of that time, except for Lily, is long buried in my mind…" he didn't want to get into too much detail, just enough so Remus would understand.

Remus was about to cry, Severus was letting him have time with the only person left for him, even about what he had done to the man, he had been years without any news from Harry, nothing at all, it was hard sometimes. "you said he was ok… what happened to him, Severus?" he asked not lifting his head "the psychological abuse is the worst of it… it's the hardest to overcome and heal… but he is a strong kid… he will be fine, he needs us, but he will be fine" Severus seemed to be reassuring himself more than reassuring his guest, in another gesture of trust he stood up and went to the kitchen, showing Remus how willing was to let him slither into his life slowly, once he came back he poured the tea and handled one to Remus, noticing that he had way more scars that when they were children "are you drinking wolfbane?" at Remus' shake of the head he nodded, he didn't need to ask why, the wolf's clothes and his skinny figure talked by themselves "I will start brewing the potion, don't worry, you'll not have painful transformations anymore" the broke Remus completely, he started crying.

 **A/N: Sorry for the delay, I was moving out of the country so I didn't have much time at all, but I am finally settled in, Hope you liked this chapter!**


	10. Middle Ground

**A/N: First of all, I am so sorry for not updating this fic for three months but it has been wild. On another note, this chapter is rather short because I want to change the rhythm within the fanfic, meaning the action will happen faster, also this will probably lead to longer chapters instead of a scene per chapter. With nothing else to say, Enjoy!**

Severus didn't know what to do with the crying wolf, he was not good with emotions, not his own nor others, so he sat there trying his best to give the man some space. "Thank you, Severus, it really means a lot…" Remus said once he had calmed himself enough "Remus, there is no need to thank me, we are the only ones left for Harry and I know this won't be easy at first but I want him to have as many people as possible around to support him… it won't be easy because you and I have history… but I am willing to get to know you as the person that you are now and get over our past."

Remus nodded along before chuckling "I am really not that deep… but you are right, we are the ones left, we need each other…" he sighed at the thought of his friends, dead or alive they weren't coming back. "Another important thing to mention is that I am friends with Lucius Malfoy, therefore Harry is already warming up to his son, Draco, I know that you do not like the Malfoys, but they are dear friends of mine."

Remus took a moment to process the way his world needed to change, he was about to complain but thought better, he somehow trusted Severus and if the potions master thought that the Malfoy family was trustworthy, then he will need to start thinking about them in a more trusting way.

Harry woke up in his bed, he hugged his fluffy rabbit friend, Dante, and got up, entering the bathroom before going to the living room where his dad's deep voice could be heard. He pushed his bedroom door open to find the tall man that his dad called Mr. Lupin talking to his dad who turned around to greet him.

"Hello, little one, did you have a nice rest?" Severus said and picked up his son who nodded in response "Remus and I was talking about the Malfoys" Severus noticed how Harry's attention was caught up by mentioning his new friend's family.

"Are they coming?" Harry asked shyly, he really wanted to see his friend again, Draco was fun. Severus smiled and looked up toward the wolf, he didn't need more proof about Harry's opinion towards the Malfoy family. "We can ask them if they want to come, but I was talking to Remus about them because he doesn't know them quite well, so he is feeling uneasy about them" Severus could have said it in a more complicated and expressive way but the little boy, while intelligent, he is still eight years old, he can't be bothered nor he can understand the complications of adults relationships.

"You don't need to feel uneasy about them Remus, they are great people," Harry said in a brave move, he wouldn't ever talk to a stranger, or anyone for that matter, but he needed to defend his very first and best friend.

Remus had mixed feelings, for once, he loved to talk to Harry and hearing defending someone that is dear to him made him proud, after all, it showed the good heart that Harry possess, but, on the other hand, he felt his heart ache, "Remus" is not the way that he wanted Harry to address him, is cold and distant but he is sure that someday Harry will be comfortable enough to call him Moony like the Marauders always fantasied while Lily was pregnant.

"I'll leave now, we will, hopefully, see each other soon," Remus said while standing to leave. "Have a nice evening, we will definitely see you soon… Remus" Severus answered politely, and Harry waved him goodbye, the next second Remus was gone.

Severus put Harry down on the sofa and summoned Harry's new animal set, so he could play around while Severus worked for a while and thought about his little one's education, a topic that only came to his mind after thinking about doing his own work. His first thought was to find a school nearby, but, obviously, that thought was quick, near Hogwarts there was not muggle or wizard elementary school. So, homeschooling was the best option, at first he thought about teaching Harry himself but his schedule, he wouldn't be able to spend any quality time with Harry, the ideal would be for Harry and him to have classes at the same time, suddenly an idea came to his mind, Remus wants to spend time with Harry and he is a very educated individual, Severus would also show trust if he offered him the opportunity.

After an hour of work he wrote a letter to Remus explaining the situation and then looked up to see Harry playing with his animals, making up little stories like he has been doing the entire hour, he listened closely to the little mumbles of conversation before Harry looked up to him, probably because he felt like someone was watching him, and smiled "Dante is hungry… can we have dinner?" Severus smiled slightly "is Harry hungry too?" after Harry nodded, he picked him up, and carried the child and rabbit to the kitchen where he ordered dinner from the house-elves. He could definitely get used to this lifestyle.


	11. Yule

Life went on after the first encounter between Remus and Severus. Remus was now Harry's teacher even though classes would not start until the end of the Holidays, the school material would include subjects from the muggle education method as well as introductions to subjects that Harry will have at Hogwarts. Narcissa was also interested on Remus study plan for Harry and, after long consideration, because education is a very important matter, the Malfoy Family asked Remus to teach Draco as well, who was beaming at the thought of spending more time with his friend.

It was Yule Day, a very important celebration within the wizarding community, every family had their own rituals, somewhere very old like the pureblood's rituals, some others had just become a ritual, but the most important part of the celebration was the dinner. Every year people came together to celebrate, usually, people would invite their family and close friends to this kind of celebration.

That's exactly why Severus Snape was getting Harry ready, doing his best to comb the mess of curls without making it look too bad, they had been invited to the Malfoy Manor to have dinner. Remus was also going, he and Severus had some conversations but never about the past, always about Harry and, surprisingly, potions, it was normal to hear Severus rambling about potions, but it was definitely unusual for him to have an audience that was genuinely curious about the topic. Harry was always curious about everything and Remus was a great listener, needless to say, that he also had his fill from time to time talking about different spells.

Their relationship had definitely improved and not only theirs, but Remus was also feeling more comfortable around the Malfoys, and Hagrid got used to constant visits from Severus and Harry, who was starting to be more confident around the tight circle of people.

Suddenly, the sound of knocking could be heard in the new family quarters, Severus put down the brush "that must be Remus, let's go say hi, maybe he knows how to deal with your hair" Harry followed Severus to the door eager to see the werewolf. Harry did not know yet about Remus condition, the adults thought that it would be better to tell him after the full moon, this month would fall around the 27th, perfect timing in between holidays.

Remus was worried about the little one's reaction to the news, but he also knew that it was necessary for him to know the truth, even though Severus insisted that if he was not comfortable talking about it to Harry it was completely fine to wait, which, in a way, surprised the werewolf, he somehow figured that Severus would be the first one to urge him into talking.

Remus picked Harry up the moment that he saw him "Hey cub, is your Dad struggling with your curls again?" Severus was not amused by the comment after all not everyone had the patience to deal with that mass of hair and Severus' hair was really straight, so he didn't have previous experiences, because braiding (badly) Lily's hair when they were kids did not count. "Can you finish getting him ready while I dress?" Severus was still in his lab clothes because he hadn't had a chance to take care of himself.

Remus nodded and took Harry to the child's room "you get ready, we got this," that's all Severus needed to basically run to the shower. He desperately needed to get his hair washed and get rid of the potions oils that stained in his skin.

Remus sat Harry down on the chair on his room and started to brush his hair carefully to not hurt the child "What is new, Harry?" Remus asked lightly while concentrating on the little knot on the child's hair that did not want to come off, making him frown a little.

"Yesterday Dad and I made an experiment, it was in my experiments book, it was really cool!" Harry started to tell everything about this little experiment, which it was just a little volcano, but it was enough to pick Harry's curiosity on science, especially when he tended to question everything, not always out loud though.

Remus listened carefully to everything that Harry had to say, making sure to ask him some questions about it, he loved the fact that Harry seemed to be comfortable talking to him, that he knew that Remus would listen. It had been a process for Harry to fully open up to him, at first, Harry only talked when Severus was around, then, slowly but surely, he started to make his opinion known when they were alone.

Severus, eventually, came out of his room, fully dressed and ready, just in time to make sure they had everything they needed. He went to check on Remus and Harry who were sitting on Harry's bed reading one of the child's books, Harry's hair was combed and looking like a controlled mess that made the child look even more adorable.

Severus leaned on the doorway looking at them for a second, he was glad that his son had someone else to count on, someone else to be himself with. He was also, deep down, glad that that person was Remus, it gave him a sense of peace, he did not know when this feeling started, after all, a month before he only felt disgusted towards the werewolf, which, thinking back now, it felt so wrong. Before he took Harry, everything seemed so dark and gloomy around him, but now he finally saw the light.

He stepped further into the room, clearing his throat to make his presence known, "everyone ready?" he asked looking at Harry, missing the surprised look followed by a shy smile that Remus sent his way. "We are ready Dad! Let's go!" Harry was all too eager to go to Draco's house, he missed his friend a lot and really wanted to play with him.

Remus was in a trance for half a second, looking at the surprisingly beautiful sight that was Severus dressed on his formal robes and freshly washed hair, contrary to popular believe, Severus' hair was rather beautiful, thick and dark that, when it was not oiled up because of potions fumes, had some volume and framed his long face perfectly. Remus shook these thoughts away, what was wrong with him, he just made peace with Severus who was clearly heterosexual, judging by his love for Lily alone, he could not and would not get a crush now.

They traveled by floo, this being the easiest way of traveling, also the safest during winter, no one wanted to walk all the way down to the Hogwarts' gates under the snow storm.

"Severus, Harry, Remus! Welcome" Lucius Malfoy greeted them "you arrived just in time" he then looked at Harry and smiled "Draco will be here in a moment, his mother wanted to do his hair"

Harry giggled and nodded "Thank you for inviting me Mr. Malfoy" Remus offered his hand as a greeting, which Lucius shook while saying "call me Lucius, and it's a pleasure to have you."

They walked towards the dining room where they found Narcissa and Draco already waiting, Draco ran and hugged Harry the second he saw him, making Harry stiffen for a second before he hugged him back "I missed you, you have to tell me about that experiment that you talked about in your letter."

During the days that Harry and Draco could not see each other, they took it upon themselves to send letters back and forward, even though they actually only had been apart for two or three days, they needed to tell one another everything they did.

The adults thought that it was a great way for the boys to practice their writing skills and composition skills for school, so they tend to encourage for them to write, as well as, when possible, correct the letters and help out with spelling.

After the meaningless greetings they sat down at the table, the adults already talking about news at work, especially Lucius who had been listening closely to his peers, so he could determine whether or not people saw Harry and wanted to harm him. Thankfully, as for the moment, no one had any recollection of Harry, and those who had seen him were rather supportive and simply beamed at the cuteness of the child.

This did not mean that they were completely safe, after all, there were many people who would not be taken aback by the fact that Harry was still a child to use him to fulfill his own agenda. But it was a relief when the powerful people at the Ministry were unaware of Harry's presence in the Wizarding World.

The dinner went smoothly, the conversation between the kids filled the room with little giggles that amused the adults to some extent. The houseleves made the best pork roast with rosemary and garlic which the adults accompanied with some Spanish red wine, while the children enjoyed a soda that Remus had bought in the muggle supermarket for them to try, both of them loved the fizziness and novelty of it.

For dessert they enjoyed some Yule Log which was beautifully presented. Throughout the meal Draco, with some help from the adults, explained Harry the intricate etiquette of a formal dinner and why those kinds of protocols were important. Lucius was instantly aware of the extent of the abuse after hearing little comments from Harry like "before I was not allowed on the table" or "thanks to Dad now I can eat a bit more" even though his portions were still small and had to take a potion before the affair.

After the meal they all sat in the living room, the children talked about the presents that they would get tomorrow and played with a magical chess set, they still did not really fully understand the complexity of the game, but the basic rules were easy enough and their strategy skills got better with each game.

On the other hand, the adults were sited with a glass of their liquor of choice, except for Remus, who, according to Severus, "drinking this much would affect the effects of the potion even if you still have a couple of days before that time," and submerge themselves in a heavier conversation.

"Millicent Bagnold is a good enough Minister, but in my opinion, he focuses more on the international opinion than what the English population needs" Lucius commented after explaining what he could of his role inside the Ministry to Remus, who really did not know what the other did.

"I have no right to vote, well… I don't have rights… so, in my opinion, he is rather incompetent…" Remus said in a whisper, not really wanting to cause controversy, but at the same time, valuing his opinion.

"I believe, in that aspect, you are right, he should start thinking about werewolves' rights, after all, how does he expect you to have enough money to afford the costs of living if he does not allow your kind to have a stable job? There always going to be bad people, but the good people should not suffer because of them" Narcissa said after making sure that the children were not listening, "Lucius, you should try to bring that to his attention, and that's only scratching the surface."

Lucius nodded from his seat, not able to verbally agree because he just had a taste of his drink. Remus was taken by surprise, he never really thought that the Malfoys, out of anyone, would actually understand his situation. Severus was silently listening, he really did not understand politics, but understood Remus problem.

"It will be a long process, but it is worth trying to convince him… the other day, I was conversing with Mrs. Perrot and she told me that her little girl was bitten a couple of months ago, thankfully she assured me that her daughter did not transform last month, they were really lucky that St. Mungos could attend her on time."

Remus was relieved to hear that, after all, no one deserved to be in such pain, "that is really lucky when Fenrir caught me… my mum tried to take me to St. Mungos but it was too late, it had already been more than twelve hours and the bite was too deep"

Severus had the urge to extend his hand to comfort Remus, an urge that took him by surprise, but immediately related it to him comforting Harry many times before.

After a while, they were ready to leave the Manor and sleep, they would be back the next day for lunch to exchange gifts. Severus, Remus, and Harry said their goodbyes and flooed to Hogwarts.


	12. Night

Remus was planning to stay long enough to see Harry being sent to bed, just to experience the lighthearted domesticity of the home, deep down, even when understanding why Harry could not be under his care, he felt like he was missing on those little moments.

It was Severus' idea really… or maybe the concentration drift away from the "intruder" in favor of attending his son's needs, whatever the reason may be, the situation left him in the living room waiting for Severus to dismiss him, but it never happened, so he just accompanied the little broken family through their nightly routine, he also got to read Harry a tale to help him sleep, per request of the little one who laughed tiredly when Severus decided to make a little play out of it, helping with the dialogues.

Once again, after putting Harry to sleep Remus expected a dismissal, but, to his surprise, Severus took a seat on his favorite armchair and gestured for him to seat extending his hand slightly towards the sofa.

Severus then started talking with a distinct tone in his voice, something raspy, full of emotion that was desperately trying to be hidden, he seemed… worried "Are you ok? I mean, the dreaded night is coming… the potion is ready, and I changed a couple of things to make sure it would work better, but I cannot be sure until you try it, it is an experiment and your b- "

"Severus, it is going to be fine, I have survived for 25 or so years without it, I am so glad that you put the effort into the potion…" Remus smiled, almost amused by the way that Severus was rumbling not fully understanding why Severus would be so worried, he was no more than a teacher to Harry for now. It is also fair to point out that Remus was, in a way, glad that he was important enough in Severus' life for him to be worried.

"I know… it's just that you shouldn't have to deal with it, I hate the fact that people have to endure the pain and dangers every single month… if I create a better potion that takes the pain away and helps to control or even get rid of the wolf, I can help not only you but all the people that have to deal with the same…" Severus explained while looking at the floor, embarrassed in a way.

Remus smiled, the man in front of him had changed a lot since they were children and, right at that moment, he realized how lucky he was to have the opportunity to see this Severus. "I am sure that you will be able to find the cure, hell, if someone can you are that someone, but for now don't beat yourself up, go to sleep and rest" Remus stood up to leave but Severus took his wrist.

"It's rather late… why don't you sleep here? I am sure Harry will love to see you in the early morning, you can take my bed, I will take the sofa" Severus said in a bit of a rush, gesturing up and down with the hand that was not perched on Remus' wrist.

"I will stay but I will take the sofa" Remus smiled softly

"but you need rest more than anyone right now… What if we share the bed, I mean, it is a big bed…" Severus' mind caught up making him blush "just… sleep of course"

Remus was taken aback but the blush on Severus' cheeks, in a forbidden way, made him smile happily "I will be honored to share your bed Severus" he chuckled a bit, hiding it quickly to not upset Severus.

"I will go change… you can transfigure your clothes…" Severus finally left Remus' wrist alone.

Once both of them were ready to get in bed Remus took the left side, nearer the window, leaving Severus the better access to the door, therefore better access to Harry. It was rather awkward at first, Remus could not sleep, he could not stop thinking about the beautiful man beside him. Severus, on the other hand, fell asleep quicker than ever, in his sleep, he rolled towards Remus, close, but not hugging, just close enough to feel the other man presence. After that, Remus fell asleep easier, relaxing at the body heat around him.

The next morning, Remus woke up slowly, for once he felt well rested, before he remembered where he was, in the strange position that at that moment had to face, he just woke up in his friend's bed, that part was not exactly a problem, the real problem was the fact that said friend was Severus, the worst of all was the fact that it felt right, it felt like he belonged there.

He stood up as careful as possible to not wake Severus up, who was still peacefully sleeping, and walked to the little kitchen, he started to make some coffee, not remembering that he could have asked the houseleves for it, he was not used to having those kinds of things.

Surprisingly enough, the next one to wake up was not Severus, Harry walked into the kitchen still half asleep but clearly excited for the new day and the presents that were promised over and over to him, he also had showered and dressed. At first, it was clear that the child did not catch up on the fact that Remus was there extremely early, but once his eyes focused again he just stared until Remus noticed him.

"Good morning Harry" Remus had drunk enough coffee to be able to seem slightly cheerful, he gestured Harry to sit at the table "sit down little one, I'll prepare breakfast, what do you want?"

Severus decided to make his entrance at that moment without saying much more than a simple "morning" to no one in particular, he walked to the coffee pot and got a mug for himself, after a couple of mouthfuls his brain finally caught up on the two people looking at him, Harry still had a confused look on his face and Remus was looking at him with this innocent amusement.

He cleared his throat and started to prepare breakfast "Remus did stay the night here Harry, it was rather late yesterday, so I offered to him" he chuckled when the little one simply nodded. "when did you wake up? You are already dressed"

"I was too excited, so I woke up earlier when I heard people in the kitchen I thought that it was ok for me to come here too…" Harry said with a clear fear of saying something wrong, usually his dad woke him up, so he had never gone outside on his own.

"Fair enough," said Remus, after all the castle was the safest place in the planet, nothing really could happen, "yeah, you did good child" his father encouraged making Harry smile.

The rest of the day was fairly calm, Remus seemed to fit right in with the dynamics of the family, never once Remus felt that he was out of place or intruding, in all honesty, it felt like he had been there from the start.

Harry got excited for all of the presents, from the customary clothing to books and muggle and magical toys, but he had two clear favorites, the book that Draco had sent him about chess claiming that they needed to study so they could have better matches in the future, he had briefly commented on one of his letters that he enjoyed chess. The other favorite was his Dad and Remus' present, apparently, they had teamed up to find everything they could think of from James and Lily, well, everything that an eight-year-old could possess, because, for example, the marauders map or the invisibility cloak were not a good present for a child, he would get them eventually, but not yet.

The dreaded night came sooner than expected, Harry was told that on that evening Remus would need to go back to his house to fix some stuff staying away until the evening of the next day, Remus had spent since Yule's night with Severus, both enjoying in secret the closeness, while Harry was the happiest he could ever be, he had his two favorite people with him, Remus played with him whenever Severus needed to brew some potions, and Severus did the cooking and helped Harry with his vocabulary, he felt the most love he had ever felt since he had clear memory.

Remus left the quarters after lunch, he was dreading this night, he had already taken the wolfbane potion to, at least, keep his own mind on during the painful transformation, it is better, even when seeing himself in that form was a horrible feeling, he felt completely out of touch with his own body. Although, knowing Severus and his genius abilities at potions, he was expecting to be in less pain at least, which was a relief.

Harry and Severus spent the rest of the afternoon quietly reading, but the child was visibly worried, he would frown at his toys and read the same page for over ten minutes, needless to say, the adult was in the same state, if not more, of worry. Severus had gotten closer and closer to the wolf, he found himself needing the company of Remus to fall asleep, they even woke up hugging each other the previous night, in the quiet of his mind he could admit that he had never slept so peacefully in his life.

After a couple of hours watching the child clearly distressed, he picked him up from the floor were Harry was pretending to play and sat him down beside him, "what is troubling you, my child?" Harry simply scooted closer before answering in a quiet voice.

"Did Remus get tired of me? Is he ever going to come back?" at this response Severus frowned a bit, before realizing, once again, how far the abuse that the child endured went.

"Of course he is not tired of you little one, I don't think no one will ever get tired of you, not me, not Remus, not anyone, you are the sweetest, most caring boy I have ever met" Severus made a small pause making sure that Harry understood everything that was said to him, "he will be back tomorrow or the next day, depending on how long it takes for him to finish his duties."

Harry weight the words that were being said to him, he tried to believe every single one because his Dad never once had lied to him. In all honesty, deep down, Harry knew that those thoughts were irrational, that Remus was an adult with adult responsibilities to attend to, but he could not stop himself from making those assumptions.

"Dad… can we make a potion?" Harry felt the need to take his mind out of those thoughts and making potions always seemed to work for his dad. "Of course, what kind of potion do you want to try? Find one in your new book and we will make it together" Severus seemed to catch up on the reason behind his child sudden interest, Harry was curious about potions like he was about anything else, but usually Severus was the one to bring up the topic, just because Harry tended to not voice his request, another clear sign of past abuse.

Harry spent the rest of the afternoon trying to put together a simple Forgetfulness Potion, according to his Dad his students brew that kind of potion during his first year, and that many of them have trouble during the preparation because they are not used to the process, it takes a while to really get the difference between the many ways to cut and prepare an ingredient.


	13. Pain

_A/N: First of all, this one is a long one, tell me in the comments if you prefer longer or shorter chapters, I may start to write more than 1500~ words per chapter._

 _Second thing that I wanted to point out, in this fic, as you may have noticed in the last chapter, I made sure to include the fact that Remus had never taken Wolfbane before, in Pottermore, in the section about Remus it never mention whether or not he took the potion during his childhood or his school years so I am assuming that he did not._

 _Lastly, I want to address another minor detail, in the same article in Pottermore, it is said that Wolfbane "restricted his transformation to that of an ordinary and sleepy wolf." I am going to put that aside and conserve the werewolf appearance instead, for reasons that will be explained further into the plot, I also purposely left Peter out of everyone's thoughts, again plot development reasons, so don't go after me, I did it on purpose, and no, it is not because I don't like Peter, even though that may be true. The information is rather lacking so bear with me._

The pain started soon after the sun had finished setting, it built up from the inside, even when Remus expected it, after years of the torturous routine, it still surprised him how the beast crawled its way out of his thin body. He bent down, hugging his stomach, trying his best to not fight it, it hurt more if he did, he had tried before and left him sore for days, still feeling a phantom pain, almost as if the beast was mocking him for even trying to fight the inevitable.

He sat in the floor, the door locked by Madam Pomphrey like she has done when he was a mere teenager. The pain extended to his arms and legs, just as he witnessed his body start to change, he felt the impulse to scratch his body, the beast trying to be released fully, but surprisingly, the urge was anything that he had experienced before, usually he could not control the scratching, at this point he, himself, his mind, would have been gone, that is why he always woke up in the hospital taking count of his new marks and the ones that had been reopened.

But that night, Remus was in control, he could force himself to leave his arms by his sides, to not react. For the first time he was able to see himself as the beast that, after a long moment that felt like hours, had already inched its way into reality, his arms were longer, noticeably so, they were hairy and ended in deformed hands, palms as big as a human hand, but short fingers that sported claws, strong enough to be able to tear his human skin apart.

His legs, he noticed, were longer too, not as disproportionally as his arms, but still longer than usual. His feet, or whatever you could call those abominations, were shaped in a wolfish way. His heel seemed to have backtracked so that he had to walk with his toes. Hair, there was so much hair, he was by no means a young boy, so body hair was normal… but this was an insane amount, he reminded himself that this beast came from the wolfs.

He was about to feel his face when he felt it. A pull in the back of his mind, as if the beast was trying to regain control, his heart started racing, his breath was caught in the suspense, before his body… no, the beast's body, alerted for the lack of oxygen, made him inhale sharply before getting caught again in the panic. The beast was scratching in the wall of his mind, the wall that Severus had put there with whatever he did to the potion.

The beast didn't fully come out, it made him howl involuntarily, sounding almost like a cry, maybe it was him after all, crying for help to whoever may be able to hear, even knowing that no one would be able to. His mind was all over the place, not being able to fully come out of that state of suspense.

He needed to know though, he needed to feel his face, check on the beast's appearance. He had seen other werewolves before, but this was his demon, his ultimate nightmare, he needed to put a face to it. He slowly lifted the languid arm, the newly found length making it difficult to coordinate, and took it to the side of his face, faintly touching the pointy ears before he backed away in fear.

Even when he knew that doing this would be useful and healing in the long run, it was still terrifying to check a body that he was controlling, for now, but did not belong to him.

His perseverance, James use to call it uncurable stubbornness, made him lift the foreign limb again, he went for his scalp this time, being under the impression that his scalp could not have changed as much. He noted that his head was longer, not as circular as it usually was, he also lacked the usual mane of hair, but he had expected that.

Slowly but surely, he checked his body, feeling the wolf on the back of his head asking for blood. The pain, he noted, had subsided soon after the transformation, which, by the usual soreness that he felt after a full moon, he could tell that the pain never really left.

The effort that took him to stand up was indescribable, he felt as if the body was numb and hard to control, he could feel the articulations bending trying to obey to his orders but unable to because of the was they had grown and changed.

After minutes of deliberation, he opted for crawling, not the best option to conserve the little dignity that he still had in this atrocious form, but the more practical one. He clumsily made his way to the bed that seated in the far corner of the room, climbing in and trying to get comfortable.

Long legs dangled at the end of the bed, not big enough to fit the enormous body that laid in it. The arms were the hardest to position, they were just too long. Any possible comfort was thrown out of the window when he remembered the couple of nights that he had spent with Severus' warm body near him. At that moment, the bed felt too empty, even with the lengthy body settled on it.

He howled in a low voice, a gentle cry, damning his destiny. How could anyone want to be around him, he was a beast, he was a monster, he didn't deserve to have people around him, he did not deserve a family, Harry and Severus could do so much better than a cold-blooded murderer like him.

He was hoping for too much, Severus would never like him, a monster, in that way, not even himself was able to stomach his own presence, not in this form. Even if he was not always looking like the beast, it was inside him, ready to kill at all times.

Before he could go further on his self-deprecation, his eyes started to close at their own accord, exhausted because of the intense emotional and physical pain. Soon enough, he fell in a pitiful and cold sleep.

When he regained consciousness, he saw the gentle face of Madam Pomphrey, it was like he was back in school, it was a welcoming _deja vu_ , the memories came to him like a bomb of hope, a black hyperactive dog and an uncoordinated deer with glasses, the two more important people in his life. Soon the thought of his new founded life and family came to mind, he needed to go back to Harry and Severus.

He was relieved, he had gone through another transformation. Madam Pomphrey helped Remus up, but his knees were not cooperating, he fell on the floor as soon as he fully stood, alarming Madam Pomphrey who took it upon herself to levitate his body and slowly taking him to the Hospital Wing.

It was a long walk, his foot was folded in an unnatural angle, probably due to the movement of his body in his sleep, or the transformation back to his human self. Checking on the pain, reaching with his mind to every part of his body, he realized that the worst of it was exhaustion, not being physically able to lift his limbs. He didn't even know if he was bleeding, he probably was, he always was.

Once he was settled down on the bed, Madam Pomphrey was like a blur of white, walking around, casting spells, looking for potions… it was a practiced routine, one that, thankfully, she hadn't had to perform in a fairly long time.

He opened his mouth when a vial was held against it, gulping down the potion as fast as possible, so he didn't have to taste much of it. The potions always tasted vile, but none of them were as bad as wolfbane, now that he could compare the flavor, they didn't seem too bad.

He barely registered the sound of Madam Pomphrey whispering to him to go to sleep, to rest so he could get out of the bed as soon as possible, the voice was gentle, maybe because Madam Pomphrey knew about the agony that he had endure, or maybe because she was somehow aware of the eagerness that he felt about going back to his little family. She always seemed to know more than anyone, she knew everyone's hardships, probably because she has seen them all in their sickness.

 _His little family…_ he fell asleep to that thought, to the hope for a future, to the gratitude that he felt towards Severus, to the surprising understanding of on Lucius Malfoy, that promised to help him in ways that nobody else could, help him to be considered human again.

But most importantly, he fell asleep to thoughts of the happy eight-year-old that had changed his life, Harry had, without knowing, brought hope to his horizon, pulled him out of his grief and shown him an alternative. He had shown him that even while missing his friends, the ones that showed him the light for the first time, Remus could still move on and enjoy life.

Severus couldn't sleep, he spent his night going through different books, trying to find something that could improve the potion, he had to find something, he refused to let Remus suffer as much as he surely was. Wolfbane was a safe option, but, in Remus case, was forcing him to see himself as his worst fears, it would surely make some phycological damage.

He never thought that he would be wishing for James Potter or Sirius Black to be around, but in this case, they could help Remus. They had helped him before and they would know what to do, somehow that thought put a few parts of his past to rest, particularly the ones in which Black would taunt him on the days after a full moon. It was not right to do that, but he was probably too stressed with taking care of Remus, and he didn't have any other outlet for his feelings.

He hated suspense, especially when he could not control it. Harry had gone to bed around five hours prior, and with the silence that surrounded their quarters, the clock seemed to mock him, extending the minutes that had seemed like mere seconds when Harry was around. Five hours, two more to go.

He put the book down on the coffee table and leaned back, resting his head over the backrest of the sofa, looking up at the ceiling, he took a deep breath and let his thoughts wander around the events that had occurred during the previous days. He had let Remus slowly creep his way into his home, slowly opening his insecurities to a person that, he hoped, would stay.

He had quickly gotten used to Remus' presence in his life, in his home, in his bed, the last one made him reconsider, once again, his decisions. He had just become a father, how irresponsible of him to get into the mess of a relationship now, but, even though he knew that it may not be the most intelligent decision to make, he couldn't help but let the natural curse of the relationship progress.

He could submerge himself in self-deprecating thought for hours, he was not exactly lover material, but the warm feeling of belonging made those thoughts quieter in his mind, overpowered by the hope of a new life. He was deep in thought, so much that he didn't notice Harry coming into the living room and sitting beside him.

"Dad… are you okay?" Harry whispered, afraid of raising his voice too much, scaring his dad in the process.

Severus came back from his trance, looking down at his son and wrapping his arm around him to hold him closer, "I am fine little one," he noticed that it was already day time, "let's get some breakfast."

The next time that Remus woke up, he could hear people around him, whispering in a quiet conversation, but could not identify who those people were. He slowly crept open his eyes that were not as heavy with fatigue as before, and looked towards the sound, finding the worried face of Harry.

"Hey, little one," he managed to say with a raspy voice, Severus, upon hearing him, handed him a glass of water that felt like liquid life when he drank it.

"You got hurt…how?"

Severus sighed and picked the child up to seat him in the bed, next to Remus, taking the spare chair for himself, before Remus started to talk. "Well, Harry, you see…I have… I have this condition, this… this condition makes it difficult for me to… for me to not get hurt during full moon…" he knew he sounded nervous, but he was more worried about saying the wrong thing and making Harry upset.

"Remus needs a special potion to be able to not hurt himself too much during that time, he also… he also needs to go away for the night once a month, do you understand, Harry?" Severus jumped into helping him, making Remus feel safer in a way.

"So… you are not leaving us?"

"Of course not, Harry, I would never leave willingly, I adore you" Remus took Harry's hand and kissed it gently.

"do you like Dad? He was really worried without you…" Harry asked innocently, Remus froze for a moment before looking at Severus, who was purposely looking everywhere but at Remus.

"I do, Harry" that made Harry smile, "but you must understand" Remus continued, "I am a werewolf, Harry, I transform into a wolf in a full moon, that's why I had to leave you"

"Werewolf? Is that why your ankle is wrapped? Or why your arm has a cut? Dad only said that you were hurt…" While Harry was listing his questions, Remus nodded along.

"Harry, you have to understand, werewolves are seen as monsters, but Remus is no monster, is he?" Harry shook his head rapidly at his Dad's question, "he is a brave man that has to go through this, he didn't ask for this, but he is brave enough to live with it." Severus took Remus' free hand and squished it slightly, encouraging him.

Harry leaned on Remus laying beside him, "you are my other Dad, you are not a monster." Remus may or may not have shed a tear at that.


	14. Open

_A/N: Hello, I am sorry for the wait and for the short length of this chapter, but life is crazy right now and I am kinda in finals and also in the middle of moving back to my country... so I apologize. I promise that the next one will be better._

Remus was cleared to leave a little after lunchtime. He remembered his youth when he was not strong enough. Not used to the pain. He had not been able to move comfortably for days. Years of monthly torture had taken a toll on him and his pain tolerance, so when his school days came around he could bear with the pain after a day in bed.

It was incredible, really, the only pain that he could still feel was his bandaged ankle. Even though the physical pain was minimal, Remus' mind had taken the tool. He couldn't stop thinking about the beast. Even when Severus was helping him walk back to the little family's quarters, with Harry by his side, holding Remus' hand, he couldn't keep his mind away from the beast body. He had to talk to Severus. Not only to tell him about the potion's effects, but also because he felt that he could trust Severus with his worries.

They sat down on the sofa, Harry knelt in front of the coffee table, coloring some pictures in one of his books. Severus took his hand after a moment. It must have been longer than just a moment because Severus seemed worried. His eyes were soft, bearing his soul to Remus, trusting him with his emotions.

"How are you feeling?" Severus asked in a small voice.

"I…I am still not sure… I will need to talk to you about everything…"

"Whenever you are ready." Severus smiled softly, understanding. "Harry, do you want to help me prepare some tea?"

At the mention of his name, Harry looked up from his drawing and nodded to his Dad. He was trying his best to stay as invisible as possible. He knew that Remus was not feeling like himself today, so he tried to stay out of his way. He stood up and walked with his Dad to the kitchen.

"Dad, can I have one of the chocolate biscuits? They are very yummy." Harry asked while giving his best puppy dog eyes to Severus.

Severus chuckled softly, he was incapable of saying no to those eyes. "Sure thing, son, but just one, alright? Take one to Remus too, he hasn't tried them yet."

Severus busied himself with the preparation of the tea, taking the time to think about how to talk to Remus. That morning he had felt hope. Hope for a future with someone he had come to care for. But after all, he had only had a small number of people that dare to come as close as Remus had, one of them was dead… the other is Lucius, who was still putting up with him.

"Severus, have you been hiding the chocolate from me?" Remus' voice came from somewhere behind him, making him jump.

"I am not hiding anything, you never asked for it." Severus smiled to himself, making sure that Remus couldn't see him.

"Outrageous." Remus rested his chin on Severus' shoulder. "are you going to tell me where the rest of it is?"

"Is chocolate all it takes to improve your mood? And don't even try to give me puppy eyes, you have to be a role model to Harry, at least wait until he is in bed. I don't want a hyperactive toddler running around so late in the afternoon."

Remus sighed but didn't back away from his position. He leaned even closer, testing the waters. Once he was hugging Severus from behind he asked, "Is this ok?"

Severus nodded, not trusting his voice. He was nervous, he hadn't had any romantic partners in his life, so he didn't know exactly what he was supposed to do. Severus poured the tea in the mugs and looked up. "Let's…let's go to the living room." He was unsure whether he wanted to move.

Remus nodded, "and for the record, yes, chocolate improves everything." He smirked at Severus and then walked back to the sofa.

Soon enough, Harry was put to bed. The adults, still very much awake, sat down in the sofa. Severus took the initiative this time, handing Remus the chocolate that he had been asking for and leaning slightly against him. Remus smiled softly and put his arm around the man, bringing him closer.

"We have to talk… about last night, I… I need to talk about it," Remus whispered, "it was… rough…"

After a second of silence, Severus spoke, "was it painful? Are you ok?"

"It was… but it was not that bad… I just… I saw it, Severus, I saw the thing, like myself…" Remus was on the verge of crying, "I had to move with those limbs… they were… deformed, long and… how can you look at me... that thing… how could my friends look at me…"

"Remus… I am so glad I ever decided to give you a chance, you are the kindest person in the world." Severus detangle himself from Remus' arms, so he could look him in the eyes. "Tell me… what were you thinking while in that form, what was your main worry"

"I don't want to hurt Harry, or you, I don't want to hurt anyone for that matter… my biggest concern is that… what if the fifth year happens all over again?"

"We are going to work so that doesn't happen, so you don't have to worry about that, but for now… remember, Harry loves you, I… I care about you, you are not alone, and we will work through this, alright?"

Remus looked into Severus eyes that were so soft and full of trust. He nodded before trying to speak again, holding Severus loosely by his waist. Severus' arms somehow, had ended up resting on Remus' shoulders, he was practically in his lap, but it did not feel out of place or weird.

"What I said this morning… I do like you, I don't know how it has come to this, but I do… all I could think about last night when I was alone in that bed… was about you, about having you with me, sleeping and cuddling together." Remus smiled through the tears that were still slipping down his cheeks.

"Harry was right… I couldn't sleep… I don't think I could even if I had tried, you weren't there… it would have felt weird." He looked down embarrassed. "I like you too… but you must know… I haven't… I haven't done relationships, I had had a couple of one-night stands… especially with the death eaters, they liked their 'entertainment', but I haven't… care this much about anyone…"

"We will figure it out together…" Remus was beaming, he leaned closer to Severus, close enough to feel his breath. "Is this ok?"

Severus could only nod before leaning the rest of the way, meeting Remus on the kiss. It started slow and soft. Severus was tense at first, but the taste of Remus' lips and the tongue that lightly swept on his bottom lip encouraged him to take it further. Then, it was desperate but full of everything they felt. It was truly beautiful, or so Severus thought.

Once they broke apart, Remus was smiling like a fool, being happy after the storm. He hugged Severus close, bringing him to his lap. Severus giggled, trying to hide it, he was not a teenage girl, after all, playing with Remus' hair. They were happy, at least at that moment. Remus finally was back with his little family.


	15. Superman

There were sounds. Loud enough that you would feel the need to check on whatever fell. Then there was panic. This one came from the woman walking into the room, desperately trying to find or do something important. Something expensive must have fallen. There was a loud bang, loud enough to make the little kid cry. Then there were voices, screams. And then… a bright light of an unpleasant shade of green.

Harry woke up with a muffled scream. His first instinct was to stay in bed, to not make any noise so that Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon wouldn't beat him up. But then he remembered his Dad and without a second thought, he ran towards the other room. He knocked first and then opened the door to find his Dads cuddling together.

Thankfully, before he turned around to leave, his always alert Dad called for him "Harry? Are you ok? Did you have a nightmare?" his voice was deeper than normal and full of sleep

Harry nodded and then he noticed his other Dad standing up, with his badged ankle making it a bit harder, and walking toward him. He could only look downward in shame.

"I am sorry for waking you up Dads…"

"Harry…" Remus picked him up and took him to the bed. "You don't have to apologize for waking us up"

Severus hugged Harry close to his chest. Harry, who had never gotten the chance to experience comfort after a bad dream, noticed how his vision had gotten blurry and wetness was crawling down his cheeks.

"There was green… like… like TV vomit green… and…and voices." Harry was able to choke out between hiccups and sobs, making it hard to understand him. But the moment Severus and Remus heard the word 'green' their hearts stopped.

"It's alright little one… you are safe now" Severus rubbed gentle circles on Harry's back while looking at Remus for answers. He didn't want to call whatever Harry saw a 'nightmare' because it was clearly a memory, and he promised to never lie to Harry.

"Harry, were the voices clear? Have you ever had this dream before?" Remus asked as gently as possible getting closer to the pair and reaching to take Harry's hand on his own.

"When…when I was with my aunt and uncle, I used to see the green light from time to time…" he looked at Remus and shook his head "this is the first time there were voices… I don't know what they said…"

Remus smiled softly and kissed Harry's forehead, taking in his other hand Severus' free one. "Do you want to sleep with us?"

Harry looked down a little ashamed to be asking for so much comfort but nodded anyway. Severus smiled and gave him one last gentle squish before letting go so they could get on the bed properly.

When Harry was finally back asleep between them, Severus and Remus held an important conversation over his head, in low whispers and washed over with gentle gestures.

"Do you think he remembers? I don't want him to see his mother die… even if most parents would die and kill for their child, he will probably feel guilty, and it would be so traumatic…" Remus fought the urge to say that every parent would die for their kid, after all, his friend's parents wouldn't, Sirius' home life was never the best. Also, Severus' father probably wouldn't either, they had talked about pasts and neither of theirs were pretty.

"I know… I hope he doesn't remember, I don't want him to have that memory of his mother… do you think this dream evolve because he is near magic? Maybe we are unleashing something without noticing…" Severus started to play with Remus' hair to distract himself.

"I… don't think so…" or so he hoped, "we could ask the headmaster tomorrow, maybe Lucius can also help" Remus yawned sleep coming easier after a transformation.

"Alright, we will discuss it tomorrow" Severus almost chuckled when he noticed Remus slowly falling asleep again. He took Remus hand and kissed it gently. "Let us sleep now"

The next morning was spent trying to contact Albus Dumbledore without any luck. According to Minerva McGonagall, the other professor that both, Remus and Severus would trust with their life, Albus was attending a convention somewhere in Africa. That's why they found themselves sitting at Minerva's office.

"Severus, Remus, it is clear that he remembers what happened," said Minerva who was trying her best to amuse Harry with her transfiguration skills. "But I don't think the memory got unleashed because he is here, the mind is a very powerful thing, and Harry is young, his brain is not fully formed yet."

"What… what should we do? We can't just ignore it!" Remus' voice waved because of the worry that he was feeling.

"Should we tell him what it is?"

"Dad… you do know I can hear you right?" Harry chuckled, "what is what?"

Minerva nodded, it was the wisest thing to do after all, "Harry, do you remember the dream last night?" Severus said after picking him up and sitting him on his lap.

"Yes, the green vomit, it was a scary nightmare…"

"Harry, what if I told you that you are so intelligent that you remember stuff that happened when you were a baby?" Remus chipped in when he saw that Severus was having trouble explaining such a harsh reality.

"Well… I don't think I would believe you… my first memory… is from when I was three, my cousin chasing me around the house."

"My first memory is from my mother making cookies" Minerva remembered.

"Did your mum make good cookies? Dad buys them but I think that's because he doesn't like to cook that much"

"Oh yes, my mother cookies were a really good treat. But Harry, sometimes the mind is stronger than what we think, the same way that Albus needs to storage his memories outside his mind sometimes, children like you sometimes are better at remembering situations, especially bad situations"

"That is why, we think it is a memory, a bad memory, but a memory nevertheless" Severus finally spoke.

"What is it about? Because the only clear thing that I can see is the green"

"Well… I will try and explain, but you have to trust me and let me leave some details for when you are older." At Harry's nod, Severus continued. "The green light is a killing curse… it was initially invented to kill hospital patients that were in too much pain or that had some irreparable brain damage, they or their families would choose to end their life…"

Harry looked sad, he couldn't understand how people could just give up. "But… why do I see it? Was I… like… killed at some point?"

"The curse became popular outside the hospitals rather quickly and, as soon as this happened, the Ministry of Magic decided to ban it. It is illegal to use now." Severus stopped for a second before he continued, the adults and the kid were all looking at him, taking in his little tale. "that doesn't mean that there aren't people that use it to this day. You, indeed, were the target once but you survived, the first-ever person to do so in fact."

Harry was awestruck, "am I… like invincible? Like Superman?"

"No, please, don't go around doing extremely dangerous things" Remus chuckled.


End file.
